We had a new entry late last night, and a first for us, this poor hog was the victim of a rat attack.
The finder heard a squealing coming from their garden, and thinking it was a cat that had got a bird, she went out to try and rescue it – she was shocked to see a hedgehog that was being attacked by two rats!
She has feeding stations in her garden, that appears not only to have attracted hedgehogs, but rats as well.
The rats had chewed the hogs quills in several areas, mainly around the head and back end, and had actually been chewing the rump of the hog, which was bleeding quite steadily.
On arrival, the hog was given a medicated bath to clean the wounds, and to remove any possible rat urine etc. His wounds were cleaned and treated, and he was given an antibiotic injection.
He was checked by the vet this morning, who advised that we carry on doing what we are doing with him. We will keep him until his wounds are healed, and his quills have grown back, at which time he will be released back to where he came from.
2 responses
How can I be certain when I put hedgehog crunchy food out at dusk that I am not feeding a rat? I have seen the hedgehog but not for a week or two and have continued placing food under hedge by back door. A couple of days ago I found two magpies pecking at a dead rat on my lawn in back garden. I also have a large cat but feel he is far too well fed to be interested in the hedgehog food. Please advise.Julie
You can’t really to be honest. One way to tell is to check the bowl for crumbs. Hedgehogs eat in situ, so any crumbs they drop will be in the bowl. Rats and mice tend to carry food off, so there may not be any crumbs.